Trimming shade leaves

[Psyclops]

In a couple of my posts I'd mention that I had been trimming a handful of shade leaves off my plants.
This is a beginner and Bad Mistake and I should've known better.
Trimming shade leaves off your plant; decreases your plants ability to intake sunlight and conduct photosynthesis, it also stresses a plant out and at the very least can cause stunted growth.
I don't think the stress would be enough to make it go hermorphidite, but it's a bad idea to trim shade leaves anyway.
I know from outdoor experience that a happy plant produces better buds and the least amount of stress a possible to the plants make them so much happier.
I hope I didn't screw anybody up.
Good growing.

[fermanda]

headroom

I agree with you. The thing I always understood though is that if your using cfl or floro tubes you almost should do this so the light CAN reach lower in the plant. Also it does stunt the growth, your right, but in some cases like mine, the headroom just wasnt there and I didnt want to mess with a SOG. Ive grown in dirt with floro's for 11 years. I just started an NFT system with HID's. A whole new world and I am hooked!!!!! Dont have to touch the fan leafs now!

[Fever360]

Yeah its no good to trim them. even if they are burned they should be left alone. i got some burn marks on my plants atm. I had a friend look after them for me while i was on vacation and he didnt raise the light. so they gotten a bit burned. thank god he called me up before there were more damage done.

[Schmokin]

On some of the thicker bushier indicas I like to trim the big shade leaves to get light into the bottom section of the plant. This can help promote bud production lower down. I've never run a side by side test to see if it works. Just felt intuitively right....
There was a guy on here who was keen to carry out some experiments. We should ask him to do a like for like comparison and see.
Thanks for the input friends. Very interesting.

[Smokesalot]

Timing the key

I have found that a trim of the fan leaf does little to zero damage when removed after the 6 week of flowering. Not to say rip them all off. I have seen little damage when removing old fan leaf that is shading lower buds. Now go easy not all of them. Of course this won't be necessary with any of the sativa strains as there is so little leaf at this stage anyway. Get that light to the BUDs......

[Psyclops]

Update

Well here's an update with some photographs included.
The AK-47 plant pictured here is my dwarf plant and is the smallest one in my room. I trimmed it moderately of shade leaves during beginning flowering stages about the first 2 to 3 weeks.
In this picture as of today it is now into its seventh week of flower. All its little daughters that I cloned off of it are now bigger than it and one of them was just put into the flower room.
I have no doubt that trimming one or two of the lower dead shade leaves off the plant probably won't hurt it at all, but I still don't think it is worth the value that you gain from a little bit more light.
Do like I do and make hash out of all that stuff on the lower branches.Ak-47top.jpgAk-47 - Copy.jpgIMG_0235.jpgIMG_0237.jpg
The first 2 pictures are of the Ak-47 in its 7th. week of flowering and the third is of its clone 12 days in flower room. The clone already is about a foot taller, just as bushy and it was not trimmed.
I don't know where those weird swirls in the hash came from but it's cool looking.
Good growing guys and gals.

[Smokesalot]

Congrats

There you go "High Times" photos all the way! GREAT JOB......